Coker: Doing the numbers dance with Shields
As for the negotiations with Shields, Coker said they are ongoing, but there appears to be a “discrepancy” between how…
As for the negotiations with Shields, Coker said they are ongoing, but there appears to be a “discrepancy” between how much Strikeforce is willing to pay for his services and what Shields believes he deserves to be paid.
“We continue to have dialogue with his dad, who’s his manager, and you know, Rich, who’s our matchmaker. He has a good relationship with Jake and his father, and they’ve done the numbers dance and they’ll continue to do that until Jake makes a decision. But where he is going to end up? Who really knows.”
“At the end of the day, Jake has something he feels his value is and we feel the value is in a certain area, and there’s a discrepancy there.”
“It has nothing to do with a bidding war, it has to do with, what is the value of the fighter? And the value of the fighter, to me, is based on: does he get great TV ratings? Is he a great fighter? Does he put butts in seats? And every fighter is different. Does he have that X factor to become a supersta?. So every athlete we evaluate differently, and most of the time, the fighter feels that their value is slightly higher than the promoter is willing to pay.”
